Hi, im searching for a new Laptop and i was tempted to buy the framework 13… BUT…
Usually i would search for a used or refurbished Laptop to give it a second life u know. And after it broke down in like 4-6 years usually, i would buy a new used one again.
So my first question is: Is the framework 13 really worth my money for the repairability and upgradability in comparison?
My prefered Laptops are the Surface like ones 2in1 with a stand and detachable keyboard…
But im okay with it to switch to a normal laptop Formfactor.
I would prefere 16:9 or 16:10 for multimedia but im used to a 3:2 so it would be kinda okay for me to stick with it.
How good can i implement linux on some surface like laptop?
I switched from win10 to linux Mint on my desktop this year. But i think im going to switch to another distro, because i need the ASHA-protocoll as fast as possible. Maybe not that important on my desktop but definetly on my next Laptop.
Someone switched from surface like laptop to FW13?
Im not a coder. More like a gamer with og cheat codes in gtaSA on a cracked Version of the game, which runs in deamon-tools as an ISO, lol.
Main use would be Multimedia and some gaming, if possible.
Another use would be AI… but as far as i know linux doesnt support the build in NPU of the FW13 yet. Maybe ai tinker in a few years then?
And im something like a crypto bro i would say. So how good are crypto tools implemented in linux? Some cold wallet support for exampel.
Which distro would serve my needs the most?
Is there a better choice for me than FW13 ?
So all in all im hopelessly lost and cant decide shit ^^
My only hope is to ask some Linux OGs to help me out on dis.
plz halp.
Is the framework 13 really worth my money for the repairability and upgradability in comparison?
Depends on what you upgrade for, and what you need in the first place.
If you upgrade mainly for more CPU and GPU power, in my opinion that’s a hard sell. The new mainboards from Framework are hella expensive!
If you need a dGPU in a small form factor laptop, Framework just doesn’t offer that. Same for touch or built-in tablet support.
If you’re ok with the built-in GPU and upgrade for better display, for better battery, and a better but perhaps not the absolute latest and best APU, yes, it’s worth it.
When I bought the FW13, a year later or so they brought out a new 120Hz higher resolution display. The first display being 60Hz was my only big annoyance with it, having a 120Hz monitor for comparison… So I just bought the new display, and swapping it only took literal 5 minutes.
Similar story with the hinges, I wanted ones with more resistance, so I just bought stronger ones for 25€ and easily replaced them.
If the battery gets worse, or they bring out a new one with decently improved capacity, I can similarly replace it in 5 minutes.
No glue, no 10 types of special screws, just the screw driver that was shipped with the laptop, and basically zero risk of breaking anything when making modifications.
You’ll have to know yourself if these tradeoffs are worth it to you… but after my old HP Envy’s display broke and even finding the correct replacement part was a challenge, let alone replacing it, I’m quite happy with the FW13.
How sturdy is it? I currently use Ubuntu 24.04 on my MacBook 2014, and I want a laptop with the same construction quality.
Quite good I’d say. I don’t have other high end laptops for comparison though
👍🏽
I have the latest Framework 13 and I had a ThinkPad before this. I can recommend either of them. The Framework is one of my favorite computers I’ve had, but it’s not cheap. You will save some money if you ever have to make repairs, but I don’t know how the TCO works out for upgrades. It’s more about empowerment and reducing waste though.
Linux runs fine on both the Framework and the ThinkPad. You can pretty much just take your pick of distros and they should work, although you may want to stick with one of the more up to date distros on Framework because it has new hardware. Fedora, Arch-based, Tumbleweed all work well.
To be honest its like with cars. Buying used is always going to be cheaper than buying new and while I love the framework it is a bit pricey for its stats. Now im a bit biased as I have often gotten family laptops for free so until my free laptop well runs dry I will be going with used.
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I ditched fedora, because of RedHat and co. My thinking was like… if i switch from Windows, il go full linux with as many open source as possible for me. So i prefered Mint, openSuse, and arch based distros. But shure, i could give fedora a try.
A few days ago I posted about the same thing, I wanted a Mac-like laptop but running x86 so I could run Linux properly and not through hacks. 80% of the people in the comments suggested the Framework, and for a moment I was close to getting one. But I don’t think I would be fully happy with its clunkiness to be honest. Modularized stuff are clunky we like it or not. Yes, much better for repairability, but DELL also offers me two years on site support even here in Greece, so…
At the end, I bought this DELL. It’s coming with Linux, so I know it’s 100% compatible, and I paid only 765 euros on it (after removing VAT, since I bought it also for work). That’s half the price of a Framework, with a slicker design, and it’s fast-enough (15,200 passmark cpu points). The only compromise I had to make was that the touchpad was off-center, as it’s a large laptop. Other than that, it ticks all my boxes as per my post the other day.
Used to buy dell precision (with a couple of lenovo in between but switched back to dell because of crappy support experience). Replaced my precision last month with TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 - Gen10. Great specs for decent price. Running fedora on it. No remarks so far.
I usually buy System76 laptops. Might look at a Framework one next go around. I like supporting the linux supply chain when I can. If money is the only concern, sure some repurposed thing is likely cheaper.
I looked into Pangolin 16 a while ago but decided framework would fit better back then.
Distros. Pick something in the top 10 of https://distrowatch.com/ .
I use Debian or one of the derivatives of Debian.
I think i will try cachy first (ai support, gaming too and its arch based so the ASHA support will be maybe faster there, than on other distros.
I had some similar concerns before buying my Framework 13. The community here helped me a lot to confirm that this is a great laptop. After 3 months of use I’m still in love with it (got mine on sale).
I had a Dell XPS 13 before that, and tested lots of mainstream brands over the years (Lenovo, Acer, Vaio… and dinosaurs like PB, Toshiba). All within a budget of ~$1200-$1500. They all did a decent job and the XPS13 was certainly the best, but they all end up going to the trash because of hardware failure after 4 years max.
I wanted to move to a company that cares about Linux and with Framework, hardware issues will not cause death of my machine anymore. I’ll be able to have my machine longer, or upgrade it for a fraction of the price of a new laptop.
https://www-gem.codeberg.page/sys_Framework13-1/ https://www-gem.codeberg.page/sys_Framework13-2/
Also, along my research before opting for Framework, I’ve heard mostly about starlab, purism, tuxedo, and system76. There’s obviously pros and cons for each brand as well as difference in opinions based on individual experience, but a common criticism for these (including Framework) less marketed brands is the price of their machines. Lots of people don’t realize that there’s reasons for a slightly high price.
